A Stormy Night With Stories
by evil-catgirl
Summary: (A little Christmas story :) Our herd had to hide together in a cave because of the bad weather. Of course you have to come up with something to pass the time.
1. Chapter 1

_This story takes place in an environment where no animal has ever been from us. And actually nobody knows exactly what it really looks like there. But what I'm going to tell you now will say a little about what it could be like to go to heaven._

_A very nice sloth was now up at the gate, but they didn't want to let it in. The mere sight made everyone jealous because it looked so good. When it had to leave its place on earth, all the animals around it cried, because they found it a shame to let such a beautiful creature go. The fur shone so wonderfully that even the sun was..._

"Sid, we understood that this sloth in the story has some similarities to Brooke. You don't have to stretch it out unnecessarily." A grumpy mammoth complained. Incidentally, this still couldn't believe that it had agreed to a storytelling.

"The character in my story happens to be a male." Only the interrupted man said a little vain and his buddies rolled their eyes at it.

"At least that explains why the sloth was not allowed to go to heaven." A saber-tooth remarked and then grinned at the mammoth with an paw-tusk bump.

"Let him continue to tell the story, because we will sit here until everyone has done his part. The storm is still very strong outside. So we have enough time." Now announced a mammoth mother and everyone else, especially Manny, knew that the woman managed to really let them all sit here until everyone had given something out of them.

_Anyway, the wonderful sloth was up in the sky and it wasn't let in. Those responsible probably wanted to find a way to send the sloth back to earth. After long back and forth, they made it too. And so it happened that our hero was allowed to go again. But I.. it got a noble job. It was supposed to do another good deed to help the animals on earth. Apparently there was some point account in heaven. When you have done a thousand good deeds, you don't have to put the fallen feathers away from the angels._

"It was probably more about this 'unknown' sloth doing five things without...Ouch." Manfred quickly got a head nut from his wife. This also whispered to him that he was probably the next one in turn.

"No. Sid, you are right. Sometimes you already have amazing ideas. So please keep talking." Unfortunately there are always difficulties in carrying out the ideas. But the rest of his thought kept the male mammoth only to himself because he shouldn't mess around with his wife too much.

_So the sloth landed on earth again. Of course, disguised, because nobody should know that something like this was possible. It was also abandoned in a very desolate place. Certainly because there were more good deeds to be done there._

"But then it accidentally slipped on a banana peel and broke its neck." Eddie interfered now.

"Because the sloth failed to do its job, it came to another place that was much hotter. End." Crash added. This story was just too boring for the possums.

"Boys!" The mammoth mother reprimanded her brothers.

"The next one who interrupts the story teller sleeps outside in this night." All the animals looked out of the cave to see what to expect. Since the storm was still so violent outside, some groaned annoyed of course. Ellie then smiled again and looked at Sid, who was finally allowed to continue. The narrator drank something and cleared his throat.

_For days, the sloth was looking for someone to help. But despite the very desolate place, no one found the help of the noble animal. Until it got to a dead tree. The place looked very old, but there was still a rabbit hole under the dead plant. These poor but cute-looking beings didn't know what to do. Because Christmas was coming soon and they had nothing to decorate their building or the tree above._

_It couldn't be, the sloth thought, looking for things around to beautify the home for the party. Unfortunately, it did not find very much, because all the berries and nuts he found were immediately eaten by the rabbits or packed into the burrow, because apparently they were always hungry._

_Then one morning when the sloth was thinking in the sun what else it could do for these poor animals, the saving idea came naturally. Since the sun's rays shone on the fur, this shone even more beautiful than anything you could ever see on earth. So the noble animal pulled out some hair to see if they looked so beautiful even without an owner. In fact, Fell glittered alone. So the sloth tore out even more fur strands and decorated the dead tree with it. As luck would have it, not only did the sun make the fur shine, but the moon also did a good job._

_And so the rabbits had the most beautiful building far and wide that even Santa Claus stopped to admire it. The sloth, which provided extra fur for it, moved on because it did not want praise for this work. No, it felt like it hadn't done anything, so it kept looking for good deeds it could do. To this day, no one knows whether it has returned to heaven or not._

"It was a great start." Since no one wanted to say anything without annoying Ellie, she mentioned something.

"Sid you can choose who should now tell something." She continued and grinned around, hoping that this sloth would choose her husband. This looked at his buddy angrily because he didn't want to do that. But Sid hadn't been as intimidated as before. But she forgot her son-in-law for a moment, because he started to report too eagerly. She consoled herself that Manny had to be it sometime tonight.

"Take us!" The possums hopped wildly in front of the sloth, probably because they wanted to get this over with quickly.

"I think I'll choose Eddie and Crash." Said the previous narrator, because the rodents in front of him could get really penetrative.

"Oh, man." Julian sighed briefly, but a moment later he was already looking forward to the next story. So he snuggled up again to his wife, who just smiled at the whole thing.

"Can we ask for some silence now?!" Eddie called vigorously around and he and his brother stood in front of the fire in the cave. So that they were seen by everyone.

_It was a dark and stormy night like this._

The fire blazed because Crash threw something into it. Ellie immediately pulled the two away from the center and put the two on her head.

"We're telling stories here without a fire show." She said and the brothers sighed in disappointment, but then continued.

_On a night like this, you should think that no animal is allowed to roam outside. But one thing defied this weather, because it had to follow its destiny. And this _was ...

"Insert dramatic break here." Eddie then boxes his brother in the side.  
"You just do that and don't say it. Let me tell you more!"

_Of course, this brave animal was an opossum and the purpose was to find and kill the wrong Santa Claus. Of course, this does not work in the normal way. You need a stake.._

"But that won't be a crazy scary story." Ellie intervened and her husband nudged her with a grin.

"Aha, someone would like to go out there."

"But I just wanted to.." But Manny interrupted her again.

"Everyone has to stick to the rules. Or how do you see that?" With that the oldest mammoth looked up at the brothers and they agreed.

"You got away with a warning again, but you have to go out at the next disturbance." Then the mammoth mother snorted a little offended and gave her husband a certain look.

"So now you can continue." He said to the striped rodents, although he wasn't really looking forward to the story either. But it was better to get the whole thing over with quickly.

"We don't make it too scary either." Crash explained to his sister before returning to the narrative position.

_The wrong Santa Claus had the glorious idea of stealing all belongings of the animals. Because at Christmas nobody would expect something like that to happen. Plus, this guy was taller than three mammoths together and.._

"Wait a moment! How is the heroic possum supposed to defeat one of these? "Crash asked, clearly seeing himself in history. Some of the others around the fire rolled their eyes in annoyance.

"It is not a normal possum. It lived a thousand years ago. They were just bigger back then." Eddie explained to his next animal and then cleared his throat to continue.

_In any case, the villain was looking for things that he found beautiful but did not own. So there was a stormy night like this and the great possum knew that the wrong Santa Claus would strike again. Clever as it was, the surrounding area showed what the thief liked to steal. This is how it learned that acorns are best stolen. You also heard that it was used to make very strange stuff. This guy wasn't like normal animals and just ate those things. No, he dug a hole and buried all the acorns found and waited. It should take a while, but thanks to global warming, all the buried objects melt into a giant acorn._

"I knew that Buck's last visit didn't do them any good." Manfred whispered to his friend the saber tooth.

"How was that?" Ellie wanted to know.

"Um... just coughed. I just didn't want to cough in your direction, darling." The male mammoth said as convincingly as possible, with a mock smile.

"But coughing in my direction is ok or what?" Diego got an annoyed look that he slid a little closer to his girlfriend. Crash took the chance and now continued with the story. Because he found it unfair that his brother told everything alone. Interrupting was also not possible because he was afraid to fly out.

_Our hero happened to be standing under an acorn tree. This plant was very important for the animals in the area, so as not to starve in winter. So it had to be protected at all costs. The opossum did not ask for help from anyone else. After all, he had to face the culprit alone. There would be a struggle for life and death in which only one can emerge victorious. So the brave and, by the way, very good looking possum was waiting for his opponent. Maybe that would be the end of it, but someone had to stop this villain._

_And suddenly, out of nowhere, the monster stood there. A huge dark shadow hung on the acorn tree. Which you could only see because it flashed occasionally. With red-glowing eyes, it looked directly at our hero. Then it bared its white teeth. Which it had probably cleaned specially for this encounter to be seen._

When the narrator coughed, Eddie brought him something to drink, grinning. This did not stop the cough. But he didn't care because he'd already pushed his brother down Ellie's back to end the story himself.

_The monster, of course, hadn't brushed his teeth. These were yellow from the whole crushing acorns and therefore shone in this color. There was a wheezing and you could smell its breath for miles despite the storm. It flashed in the sky and you could see the sharp teeth sticking out of the monster's mouth. They had grown out of it because of the one-sided diet. _

_It came closer with rather slow steps. But since the opossum was very smart, it quickly had an idea to save the tree. Just before the monster could approach him, he threw a few acorns on the floor. The enemy did not notice this in the dark and slipped away on the things. It fell to the earth like a stone. The sound reverberated everywhere. As it turned out, the creature had very weak bones and broke its neck when it fell._

_From then on, everyone around could live in peace. The muscular and handsome possum was celebrated far and wide and crowned king. The End._

"A real awesome story." Julian said and Ellie could only add a smile, because she really had no words for this. She hoped that now would come someone who gave their story ab bit more Christmas feeling.

"And which of you two was the heroic possum now?" Manny inquired a little impishly. For this he was punched in the side by his wife, because that naturally triggered a dispute with the brothers.

"It was just a story. In addition, the heroic possum lived a thousand years ago. Or have you already forgotten that?" The striped rodents shook their heads and stopped the banter.

"So who's next?" Asked the mammoth mother, so that her brothers finally picked someone and it went on. Of course Julian had to fidget in his place again until it was no longer possible to oversee that.

"Do you have such an action-packed story to tell?" Even if Ellie didn't want to spoil anybody's fun, she didn't really want to hear another monstrous thing.

"Well, actually it's more about love with mine." The young male mammoth looked at his partner. Two animals in this cave rolled their eyes because they didn't seem to be very keen on this story. It was the father-in-law and a molehog. But only Manfred got a punishing look from his wife because he groaned too annoyed. Because Louis wasn't that tall, he could just hide things better.

"Ok, we agreed." Eddie announced loudly to get attention again.

"We'll take Shira." Crash explained and all the animals looked at the silver-gray tigress. In fact, she had also raised her paw. Which even surprised Diego a little, because he didn't know that his girlfriend really wanted to join in here.

"Sorry Julian, but stripe brothers go first." Apologize the one possum to the mammoth and pointed to his fur.

"In this case, more like a stripe sister." Eddie remarked and the other one who had answered nodded and then took the cuddle pose from before to listen intently to the following. Peaches brushed a few more strands from her face because her husband was blowing so much wind and pulled up a few snacks. There were also some dead insects on it. At the beginning she always found it disgusting what the molehog stuffed into him. But just like the saber-toothed tigers, she wouldn't judge anything anymore. On the contrary, she often thought of bringing more for her friends than her usual food.

"I warn you before, because this story will be a little different."

_At a time when it was much more difficult to survive because the world was more dominated by ice. A lot of snow or freezing rain fell through this bitter cold almost every day. Some didn't even know when winter started and summer went, because even when the sun was out, it couldn't get the green out. The foraging was very tedious for herbivores and carnivores and it was not uncommon for some to starve or freeze to death, because everyone just cared about themselves._

_It almost seemed as if this cold had slowly entered the hearts of the animals. Even conspecifics didn't really want to help each other, because that usually meant that you had to give something up yourself. Even if a little time should be sacrificed, it was already too much for some. Strangers and single animals in particular had no chance of surviving this way of life for long._

_At least until one day a white mammoth descended from the highest mountain. The area ran silently. That it didn't bother anyone, it only got a little attention by staring when it passed. The icy wind made the night so uncomfortable again, but the mammoth was not deterred by it. It went straight to a cave that was already inhabited by three bears. These had placed a stone in front of their dwelling so that not so much cold came in. Now the mammoth tried to push this rock away to get inside._

_"Hey, what do you think your doing?!" One of these bears seemed to be still awake and now started to push the bright animal out again._

_"It's storming outside and you still have space in here. So please let me sleep here for one night." Asked the mammoth, but it's no use. The other one persisted and the big animal had to go out again. Of course it tried somewhere else, but then it got the argument that it was too big to find a place. So the white mammoth set off again, because nobody would give him a hiding place here. Since everyone was too busy with themselves, this event with the snow-white creature was quickly forgotten._

_Until a light bear appeared on the scene. This too remained silent for a while and only observed other animals around it. Since he didn't bother anyone, nobody cared about it. These nights quickly became colder again and the bear also needed to find a place to sleep. The smaller animals were afraid that his claws could hurt them if they didn't look. The bigger ones simply didn't want to share the space and the food because they hadn't planned for more. So the traveler came back to the cave of the three bears. He noticed when he moved the stone a little that there were only two other conspecifics now._

_"What's that supposed to be? Find your own cave!" But this time too, only one bear seemed to be awake and it was no less stubborn._

_"Please, it's so bitterly cold out there. I will certainly not disturb anyone for one night." But the animal opposite to him knew no mercy and even pushed him out of the cave. When the stranger landed outside in the snow, the other one laughed too._

_"You are quite right. You were too lazy to find shelter early enough and now you go begging around. Not with us!" With that the cave was closed again and the locked out bear disappeared where it came from._

_The following winter seemed particularly hard and many animals did not survive. But the remaining ones somehow had to deal with it and just tried to continue. Because there were very few of any kind left, some were forced to work together. What sounded like a catastrophe worked after a while, when everyone really tried to help everyone. And so the years moved into the country and the cold remained bitter, but as long as you had something like friends, it didn't bother most so much. The animals started to collect food and everyone got their share. Everything was distributed fairly so that almost everyone came through these icy nights without freezing or starving._

_On a day when the sun was shining more than usual, a bright being appeared again. But instead of just staring contemptuously when it got too close, the animals tried to offer him food because, as a stranger, it must have come a long way._

_This time the figure came, in the form of a saber-toothed tiger. Nevertheless, nobody was afraid of this. Probably because he behaved peacefully and did no harm. A few days passed before another long and cold night broke out. Many offered him shelter this time, but he didn't want to be a burden to the smaller animals and so he had himself sent to the bear cave. When he shifted the stone a little at the entrance, a bear immediately helped him._

_"Come in quickly, it's better to endure in here." The saber tooth entered and looked around. The one who just closed the cave was apparently alone here._

_"I know it's not particularly cozy, but it's a little warmer here than outside."_

_"Don't you have to hibernate?" Asked the bright animal._

_"Usually, but I figured you'd still come to me. I know that's a little demanding, but would you mind staying up late? I used to share this cave with my brothers. Since they are no longer there, I somehow sleep poorly." But the other animal nodded understandingly._

_"I only needed a cave to protect myself from the storm. So just rest as much as you want, I'll keep watch." Because the voice sounded so friendly and the bear was really tired, he sighed a little satisfied and finally went to bed._

_After a while he woke up and looked around. The stranger seemed to have disappeared and a little light came into the cave because the stone was not pushed back completely. The late riser believed that he had never slept through the night as well as the last. So he thought he could go out and see if he could have breakfast and then help others. After all, he felt stronger through this restful sleep and there is a lot that can be done._

_But when he pushed the stone away from the cave, he had to close his eyes first. The daylight really blinded him. No, it wasn't just the normal light. The sun shone brightly in the sky like never before. And no other cloud could be seen above. His paws felt warm for the first time in a long time. When the bear had finally got used to the brightness, he was pleased to see that the clouds were not the only ones that had moved away. There was hardly any snow left in front of the cave. He hadn't seen so much green in years. The heat thawed everything and there was enough to drink again._

_But that couldn't all just happened overnight? Then it only became clear to the bear that it had probably held out all its hibernation. But it didn't matter how hard he looked for the bright saber tooth, because he wanted to say thank you. Unfortunately, he never found it again. But more of the same kind. He was no longer alone, but he would like to know what had happened to this animal._

"That was the end. I hope I have left nothing out. But everything should be right." Only now did Shira take a close look at the group. The others looked at her silently.

"Well, I didn't say I was good at storytelling." She added a little sheepishly.

"What are you talking about? That was better than.." But Manny was quickly knocked on the side by his wife before he could say anything wrong.

"What he actually wanted to say was that all the stories are good." Ellie explained now, so as not to disturb the others who were already telling something. Everyone just makes an effort in their own way.

"Even though it was a little sad, it seemed very educational." Peaches added.

"But it had a great happy ending." Added Julian in a calmer tone and without hearing any cool words from him the others wondered here an there again. Probably because they hadn't seen the side so often. At such moments, Louis realized that this mammoth was more suitable for his best friend than they all thought.

"Still, I'm interested in where you got that from?" Asked a male saber-toothed tiger, who had to find out just now that his girlfriend was such a good storyteller.

"I have more of it, because on my travels you catch a lot of such things. But I prefer to keep it for another time." Besides, she didn't want to reveal that most of the stories came from prisoners who happened to land on Captain Gutt's ship.

"But we all learned from this that you can't always trust strange animals." Crash now interfered.

"No, the lesson was that you only let bright to white animals in, otherwise you freeze to death." Eddie pushed his brother aside again.

"I don't think that's what you should learn from it. Actually there was no lesson for us, because we are all always friendly and open-minded." The mammoth mother knew that her herd could be chaotic at times, but they all had a good core at heart.

"Except for him here. Manny could smile a little more often." Sid whispered to the others, holding up his paw, hoping the eldest mammoth wouldn't hear. That, in turn, was about to give his buddy a head nut, but the female sloth was already in the way.

"Oh Sid is just making fun. Because deep down we all know that you're a nice guy." Manfred hadn't really expected that from Brooke now and so he cleared his throat.

"Um, well. You can't always be grumpy." He thought that he never was. But unfortunately he also knew that he would never be a happy nature.

"Now don't all look at me like that! Finally Shira has to decide who should now tell a story." He said, so that the attention was diverted from him again. The tigress looked around in the group and she didn't take too long, because everyone should get their turn.

"Yeah, now it's my turn." The younger male mammoth was happy when a paw pointed at him.

"Be prepared for it, then after me my prickly-bro is in." When a trunk was shown to Louis, he only smiled apologetically.

_Once upon a time there was a very beautiful young mammoth. Or a sloth. Or a molehog. Or a.._

"Honey, I understand you want everyone to see themselves in the story. But it's okay to tell it the way you heard it." This time Peaches interfered in the story and her father was secretly happy about it, because at the third time listing of all kinds here in the cave, he would have lost his mind.

"Oh, okay."

_Once upon a time there was a young, very beautiful animal that could have come from any species. But this time it was a mammoth. Every other specimen was dazzled by the look of the beauty as she walked around the area. And because her father had a lot to say in the area, the wonderful being lacked nothing. Unfortunately, she couldn't go far from home because the strict father had forbidden it._

A burp followed and interrupted the narrator. Louis was embarrassed to cover his snout with his paws. At the same time, he didn't think it was very clever of Julian to tell exactly this story. He won't like it anyway, because two mammoths fall in love with each other without major complications. But Peache's father might not like it either because the ending is very dramatic. At least if he still had it right in his head.

"Sorry." He tried to utter, but then there was laughter from the possums. Who gave themselves a high five because they were successful with their prank.

"Guys, have you mixed such berries between the snacks again?" Ellie wanted to know and now looked at her brothers in punishment. Because at some point she reached the limit.

"It was Eddie's idea." Crash accused the other.

"Not at all!" Added the accused and the two striped started to fight again. But the mammoth mother quickly grabbed the two of them.

"You stop arguing and prefer to put these air berries or what you call them out from our food."

"Yeah, ok." It came off meekly but in sync from the twins and they immediately started the task that was given to them.

Louis, meanwhile, was lying on one of Peache's forelegs without anything he could do about it. As if he were a baby, she gently patted him on the spiked back with her trunk. It couldn't be more embarrassing. He would remember that and take his revenge on the possums in the next few days. But he vowed that every time, but it never really worked. Probably because he wasn't that good at pranking.

"Oh, you're already doing it professionally. Like a real mum." Julian praised his wife as air exhaled from Louis' mouth again. The spiky one thought his part and tried not to open it anymore. Still stayed on Peaches leg because it was just so cozy.

Ellie, on the other hove, hoped that grandchildren would not become an issue tonight. Otherwise, a certain grumpy mammoth could quickly start throwing stones.

"You can now continue to tell. I have our exercise baby under control." Peaches explained jokingly, but made sure that the molehog stayed put, because he had already eaten some berries. She playfully brushed with her trunk over his head when she heard an insulted sigh.

"I'm just kidding." The smaller one heard but remained silent. He tried to calm his stomach again, because there was no audible air coming out anywhere else. This time he should really come up with something for the possums, he thought and hoped that Julian would speak a little louder so that his body noises couldn't be heard.

_The father of the wonderful mammoth only meant well with his daughter, because there were unfortunately too many men who wanted her for themselves. Unfortunately there was not only the problem, because the beautiful lady had already chosen a loved one. _

_But this mammoth lived outside of her home. Not only that, the families of the young animals have been arguing for years. The territory on both sides bordered on a small mountain. One herd lived on the western side of the hill and the other on the eastern side. Because the young lovers didn't want to quarrel, they only met at night under bright moonlight. It was a tragedy because.._

"But that's not a story from this Pear now?"

"Manny!" His wife immediately admonished him. Some were already blowing their noses in the background because they found the story so moving.

"What? You will be allowed to ask questions if you want to know something. Otherwise you don't understand everything." Countered the oldest mammoth.

"Who's Pear?" Just wanted Shira to know, because she hadn't heard the name yet.

"Oh, I forgot to tell. We found a weird guy in a cave a while ago. He paints things on the wall out of boredom." Diego explained now. Actually, he wanted to report about it in the evening, but then something else came up and it was no longer necessary.

"The poor worm had neither arms nor legs." Sid added sadly as he thought back on the encounter.

"What? I hear that for the first time." Peaches interfered, because she didn't saw anything like this before.

"I absolutely have to introduce you to him when he is back. He makes crass movements." And so Julian mimicked that and moved his head back and forth.

"Just a little smaller like a dino. Fortunately for us without claws and feet, but it's also kind of bad luck for him."

"His whole name was Willy Snakes Pear, I think. He also said he was born that way." Brooke cheered up the other sloth.

"I've seen something like this somewhere before. Unfortunately I forgot what the species is called." She sighed, but was then distracted by a scratching sound like everyone else. The silver-gray tigress had painted something on the floor in front of the fire with berry juice.

"Did he look something like this?" Of course, someone like Sid couldn't leave that like that.

"No offense, but you should really take drawing lessons. You can't see anything like that." The sloth wiped something on the floor.

"So now you can see better what he looks like."

"Yes, I think this Pear will be happy that you take portraits of him. You should also beautify his home when he's back." Manny couldn't be more sarcastic, but Sid never noticed the undertone, of course.

"Do you really mean it?"

"Yes. But to answer Shira's question, he looks like an oversized worm."

"He or she is probably a snake." Said the tigress.

"What? That was a woman?" Julian was now completely confused. That's why the being was definitely gone, because they dealt with it all the time as if it were a man.

"Well, Willy Snakes Pear doesn't sound like a man or a woman. It depends on which of the three names is the right one to call them. Or whether it's really called like that." The little guy was strange, thought Manfred, but in their herd there were also rarely normal animals. Especially when he looked at Sid just now.

"Now that we've got this sorted out, you can continue Julian." Ellie reported again so the story could be told. The son-in-law nodded and continued.

_This love was a real tragedy because both thought that they never had a chance. The beauty of a mammoth wanted to end that one day. She was tired of seeing her loved one only at night. So she suggested that they had to do something so that the families could get along again. But it was not so easy to find the reason for the argument. Apparently the mammoths have not only fought for years, but for generations. Because even the oldest animal in the herd hadn't known it differently since childhood._

_"That's absolute nonsense." The beautiful woman threw her father on the head._

_"We shouldn't set ourselves apart from the other family for no reason." But the male mammoth remained stubborn. Just like the opposite side. Nobody wanted to listen to the loved one of beauty._

_The young couple wanted to stay strong and were patient. Again and again they came up with ideas to reconcile the families. But even the argument that they could function better and survive as a large herd did not help in this situation. Neither side wanted to step back from their own herd as a guide. If there were to be a union, someone would have to do it because leading families together was unthinkable for everyone._

_Desperate and tired from the attempts, the beauty leaned against her strong mammoth on a spring night with a full moon._

_"No matter what we do, they know everything better and don't want to see that we can stop being enemies." She leaned against her loved one more and sighed wearily._

_"Nevertheless, we cannot give up. I don't want to just give up on this and you." The male mammoth went out of his way to make his girlfriend happy, despite the circumstances. They whispered words of love to themselves and looked for a cave that night to..._

A loud clearing of a throat interrupted the story and almost everyone looked at Manny.

"Sorry that I had some shell or kernels in my throat and made myself noticeable. From now on I'm just trying to suffocate here more quietly." He said insulted and hoped that this was enough excuse. Because of course he didn't interrupt the thing because of that.

"Dad, we're all old enough here for something like this." Peaches said, which know why her father did that just now. Ellie then gave her husband something to drink with a little grin, because he still coughed a bit.

"I just hope the two mammoths waited long enough before they looked for a cave." The mammoth father explained clearly and then took a trunk full of water while he gave his son-in-law a certain look. The latter simply ignored this and continued chatting cheerfully, because he didn't really know what the other mammoths were talking about.

"The best passage is yet to come." That's also my problem, Manny thought and tried to endure the rest in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

_So the two mammoths looked for a cave that night so as not to freeze to death. Because even though spring was already in the country, the nights were sometimes bitterly cold. While the couple were talking about their families and looking for shelter at the same time, they did not notice that the day was beginning again. Tired, the two dragged themselves into a cave that was on their way and then immediately went to sleep._

_But when the families of the young mammoths realized that they had both disappeared, everyone wanted to blame the others because the two are gone, if not even were running away._

_Both sides started searching, but another argument broke out. Everyone claimed that there was nothing to be found and that the others were only spreading lies. They were so sure that no mammoth would cross their borders, so the leaders fought for justice this time. With this mess, some family members took the opportunity to find the missing mammoths on the other side. Nobody knew from the others that this would happen. It was only after a while that they realized that neither family was hiding anyone._

_"They are not here." Now someone interfered in the fight of the ruling mammoths._

_"Of course they're not here because they're on the other side.." But the mammoth father didn't finish when he saw members of his herd on the other side._

_"No, they are neither here nor there. They left the valley." Someone said, and both families knew that this could not be a good thing. Because here they lived protected. Outside there were too many dangers that could harm or even kill a mammoth. So both families set out together to look carefully in their home. But they were unsuccessful, the missing ones simply didn't show up. No more._

_Their families didn't want to live in peace with each other, now they had to learn the hard way that it could have worked before. But for what price? If they had only allowed this love of the younger mammoths, they would not have run away to start a new life in an other place._

With that, Julian just stopped speaking and looked at the others intently.

"That was the end?" Manny wanted to know and thought it was a little inappropriate because his son-in-law reminded him that he would soon be leaving with his daughter. But he would not start a discussion about it now because he had decided to put up with it. They were both grown up and had to make their own decisions.

"Jupp, that's it." The younger mammoth explained and then heard Sid whine, who then accidentally reached for an opossum instead of a leaf to blow into.

"Wuh, it's disgusting." When Eddie was able to tear himself away from the howling sloth, it was already too late. But the other striped of course found that funny. Then he grinned and ran towards it.

"Let yourself be hugged, brother." He called to Crash, who of course immediately runs away.

"Ok, that was a pretty tragic contribution from my husband." Peaches also thought that this story probably came from this strange animal, otherwise her mammoth would only ever have funny things to tell. Strange that this was the best thing to do when her parents were around. On the way here, she had mentioned earlier that Julian had long had no reason to be embarrassed in front of her father. After all, he belongs to the family.

"But I'm afraid you have to choose someone else in turn now." She added, indicating that the molehog had fallen asleep already.

If you are as small as that, you can just pull yourself out of the affair, Manfred thought and would like to do that too. He had more or less nothing against spending time with his family and friends. But it was also usually difficult for him to pursue joint activities. And yet he had already done a lot with the others this winter. Actually, he should still enjoy the time until Peaches finally starts her trip with her husband next year. But what should he do? An old mammoth like him couldn't get out of his fur so easily.

"Peaches? Brooke? Would any of you want to continue?" Ellie spoke up because her son-in-law found it difficult to choose between the male saber-toothed tiger and her husband. She knew that neither of them really wanted to tell a story. Somehow she thought it was a shame, because when Peaches was little, Manny liked to tell her stories before going to bed.

The female sloth and the peach-colored mammoth looked at each other briefly, but then only nodded.

"How about your turn now, Mum?" Peaches answered her mother, because she found that she wasn't the greatest storyteller herself.

"Well, yes I.."

"What's going on, Ellie? Didn't you say that everyone gets their turn?" Manfred now mixed in with a slightly teasing undertone.

"You'd better not spit big notes, master of storytelling." She trowed back a little annoyed, but then sighed.

"But I will continue, because we will probably save the best until the end." The largest mammoth was given a certain look again. He tried to keep any unnecessary comment to himself, even if he wasn't wrong with the statement, and he didn't even mutter something under his fur because he knew that Ellie would also notice.

So he grabbed a bite from the snacks and made himself comfortable in his place to be the perfect listener to his wife's story. She could say what she wanted, he was very good with the ears. Even if he sometimes pretended not to understand things, it was mostly on purpose. He's been doing this less often lately, because he doesn't want animals to talk about his age behind his back. Of course, he was getting old, but that happened to everyone here. At some point everyone gets old and...

Why was he thinking about this topic? Was it because his little girl wanted to go away with her husband soon? He really doesn't want to be the spoiler and keep her in one place forever, but he could never tell the truth to his family. At least not everything. What he saw and felt back then still seemed unbearable to him. He just couldn't survive it a second time. But he couldn't spoil Peaches' joy in life just because he was afraid of past experiences.

The two young mammoths want to see the world, which was understandable and maybe they will come back in a few years to show the grandchildren. He had to smile at the thought, because he could already imagine how Ellie would react.

But then he thought of his best friends and his features fell again. Could he be feeling old and thinking about things like transience because Diego and Sid were about to start their own families?

It sounded in his head as if he didn't want this to happen. What a nonsense. They were things he couldn't avoid anyway, even if he really didn't want to.

His wife hadn't said anything yet, but he wasn't exactly a mammoth that fell on his head too often. If luck meant well with the saber-toothed tigers, which of course he wished them both, small balls of fur will run around them next year. The idea seemed funny to him, because Diego will probably run behind the kids more than Shira. Somehow he saw her more than the calm and understanding mother. Almost exactly like his Ellie.

At that moment, he let his eyes wander to her because he remembered that he should listen to the narrator. Their eyes met briefly and she even smiled. He did the same to her and his heart grew warm. He could never say something like that because he was simply not the type. But he could say that he was still very much in love with this mammoth, that now filled the cave with her voice. Others may say otherwise because he forgot important events here and there. It wasn't like he was doing it on purpose.

When she looked away from him again, he wondered why she hadn't aged a bit since they met. When he caught his reflection in a lake or puddle, he recognized an old and yes, sometimes a grouchy-looking mammoth.

It was probably also because women paid more attention to their appearance. Well, he didn't burrow in the dirt like his sloth buddy, which the mud scrub called it, but he wasn't too fussy about his looks either.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't really understand why a mammoth like Ellie had fallen in love with him. At first they were forced to walk the path together, but it was their choice to continue together. Their time to get to know each other could only really begin when they had survived the adventure with the flood and the water monsters.

Yet he really believed that the others were sometimes right, if they thought he was a little stupid. In retrospect, he actually did. When the pressure with the offspring ceased due to the realization that they weren't the last of their kind, it didn't exactly make his advances any easier. When you had animals like Sid and the possum brothers around you, it was a miracle that this woman stayed by his side. Of course, she too had mistakes. At least it was always said that nobody was perfect. To this day, however, he has not found anything that his image of his wonderful mammoth could break.

When he was thinking about earlier, the time came to mind when Ellie told him that she was pregnant. By then he had actually pushed it out, if not forgotten to think about children. Because he found life so beautiful with his little herd. If there were problems, a solution was found and he was really looking forward to getting up in the morning on some days. It now feels like his wife and friends are showing him a world he didn't know about before. Or didn't want to know before.

Was it really a coincidence that he met Sid that day? What would have happened if he had simply ignored the sloth as it was planned? Would he still be in this world? Many a nightmares showed him possible answers that he did not want to think about now.

"Manny?" The animal addressed blinked and averted his eyes from his feet. Now he looked into the slightly worried face of Ellie, who had apparently noticed his facial expressions. Actually, it was not intended that she could see his mood. It would be worse if he was asked what was going on in the story because he had no idea at all.

"Hm?" He just said and waited for more sentences from his partner.

"You're ok there, yes? Or did you get such strange fruits between your food?" He shook his head slightly.

"No. I only tacitly listened to your story as you wanted it." He explained with a smile, but she looked at him carefully. As if she wasn't quite sure if he was telling the truth here. Then she sighed after a moment and snuggled up to him. Apparently Manfred really had missed the whole story because all of his friends were now turning their attention to Brooke.

Well, it won't be that bad, he thought. Finally, he could later tell Ellie why he couldn't listen properly. That meant if she should ask him questions. Since it was quite late, it could also be that she fell asleep sooner.

The oldest mammoth turned its eyes to the cave entrance, which now looked like a black hole because it was so dark outside. A faint rustle also told him it was still raining. It will last all night, but he didn't mind spending the night here with his friends. Not the first time that they all had to sleep together in a cave because mother nature didn't mean well to them. Or too good with the earth and it let it pour down for a long time.

Such evenings were rarely planned and more often forced. If they could foresee the weather, then each of them would be happy to move into their dwellings in time. It was probably also due to the fact that the next morning they literally couldn't smell each other anymore.

A trunk made Manny look somewhere else again. Ellie probably wanted to tell him that the tune was playing in here. Or she thought he was worrying too much about the weather. In both cases she was right.

So he smiled and hooked his trunk into hers, whereupon she looked at him a little surprised. But soon after, his facial features returned. The male mammoth was certain that he could survive anything as long as she lingered by his side.

"Oooohhh, how cute you are still in old age." It should have been clear to him that something like this was coming, because Sid was actually holding his mouth for far too long.

"What's that supposed to mean again?" So he threw over to his buddy, but didn't let go of his wife.

"Yes, he does have his wonderful moments sometimes." Ellie added contentedly.

"But you should ignore us, because Brooke should actually tell something now."

"Exactly Sid. How can you just interrupt your girlfriend?" With that, the mammoth father managed to draw attention to the female sloth. Sid knelt more in front of this one to apologize for being distracted. Of course, he stopped again, his tail too close to the campfire.

"I'm really surprised that his fur takes the trouble at all and grows back every time." Now Diego raised his voice and the tigress next to him, whispered teasingly that he only said something because he was jealous of this one body part. The male saber tooth grinned and returned something at the same volume. A loud clearing of the throat interrupted the two.

"Ahem.. ahem..ach.." Actually, the sloth only intended to cough significantly, but suddenly leftover food loosened from his teeth, from which he was just having difficulty.

"Are you all right, darling?" Brooke, who was already close enough to Sid anyway, patted him lightly on the back.

"It's not going to be alright when you do it this way." Diego interfered and punched his buddy on the back with his full paw. The coughing man finally spat something out of his throat.

"Yuck." Eddie said, everyone else probably only thought it when something half digested with slime landed on the floor.

"What did you eat there?" Manny asked, but was glad that he was sitting the furthest away from the choked out stuff.

"It looks like a skeleton." Crash announced disgusted and poked around it with a stick. Strangely enough, even in a cave without bushes or trees, the possums always had such a tool with them. But the brothers could no longer surprise the others with such actions for a long time.

"Guys, it's just a fishbone." Shira interfered before there were any strange topics to talk about.

"Since when have you been changing your diet?" Then the male saber tooth wanted to learn from his friend.

"More importantly, what is he going to eat now? It's not like cats. They can control their hunger. But if he gets started here, it will turn into a eating orgy." Crash was certain that he was asking the right questions. The other striped rodent immediately played along and they climbed up the sloth to look it in the eye. They weren't really interested in it, that they keep Sid from drinking water.

"What should it be next? Maybe inlaid opossum or molehog on a spit? Or do you dare to go straight to the big pieces of meat and.." Sid had enough and threw the two off his shoulders.

"It was hanging over the fire this afternoon and it smelled so delicious, so I thought I would give it a try. I swear I never nibble on small animals." Manfred and Diego rolled their eyes at the same time, because they did not understand why their buddy always believed what the striped brothers said.

"It's already ok. There's nothing to worry about." Before anyone else could say anything, Brooke calmed her loved one and even offered him something to eat.

"Oh, you are so nice to me. How I deserve you?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek. But before the couple could deepen the cuddling, they were interrupted.

"I hate to disturb the togetherness. But doesn't Brooke have to end the story yet?" Asked the big male cat after shooing the possums to the older mammoths. Actually, the two should only stop annoying Sid because there was nothing about eating fish. The saber-toothed tigers did that all the time. Only so far they hadn't spit it out in front of their friends.

Eddie and Crash thought it was stupid that they weren't supposed to have a little fun when they were hiding behind their sister, they were already planning the next thing. But Ellie pulled the two out again and made sure that they sat in front of them. She thought that if they had to behave for the rest of the evening, it would not kill her brothers.

So while the lover of the male sloth continued to tell the rest of her story, Sid shook small stones and leaves at his dilemma so that no one would step on it later. With his luck, it was him again anyway. That's why he thought it would be better to take precautions. He just hoped he could do something over the next few days so that his fur would grow back on the tail.

First, he always wanted to look good for his girlfriend. She certainly didn't like the burned-down look. Although she saw him in it several times. Second, it was Christmas today. What if Santa didn't want to give him gifts because he was running around like that? That would be terrible because he had behaved well all year round.

Sighing softly, he sat back down to listen to the story just told. But it was somehow difficult for him to listen because he fell into this trance again, as so often when he stared at Brooke for too long. This sloth had to be an angel. Maybe he already got his Christmas present this year. Anyway, that would explain why she was with him. A dream of a woman. Nice and smart. He didn't mind the old age either. Such a little difference brings a little momentum to the relationship. Everything was so harmonious between the two of them that even Sid sometimes wondered whether it was a reality or a dream. But his burnt behind proved that this was real.

For the first time, he seemed to be in love. It did not seem like before that he was almost desperately looking for a female sloth. But that was the words of his friends and he didn't see it that way at all. Just because he sometimes changed his girlfriend more often when the sun went up and down does not mean that he really needed it. After all, it was pretty acceptable as a handsome single.

Oh, he was fooling himself. It was terrible. Other animals never paid any attention to you and lived their love before his eyes, while he only had to cuddle himself. The world could be really cruel at times. On the other paw, he was finally rewarded for his years of waiting and not giving up.

He had been with Brooke for a while now, and it didn't matter what he did. She smiled at everything if she didn't even admire it. Sid couldn't even explain what it was like to be accepted by someone like that. Of course, his buddies Manny and Diego did the same. But he knew that he sometimes got on both of their nerves. And they showed it, too, in not uncommon cases.

However, his chosen one had never complained that he was around too long or that he should stop chattering. Of course he was aware that not everything that came out of his mouth sounded useful to other ears. But sometimes he couldn't help himself and just said what he thought. Or his mouth was faster than his head, as his mammoth friend liked to describe it. A cough distracted him from his thoughts.

"I'm really reluctant to interrupt the story." The male saber tooth spoke up.

"But Sid, you are dripping on the fire." Then he continued and pulled his friend away from the hot place. The sloth had probably gotten too close because his girlfriend was standing up by her story and it was too cold for him in the cave.

"We don't want you to burn other parts of your body too." He patted Sid on the back briefly before he went back to his seat and indicated that Brooke could continue. But she first had to make sure that nothing had happened to her loved one. But it didn't take long for the male sloth to push her to hear the end of the story.

Diego grinned a little when he watched them. Because even if Manny and he always laughed at their lazy friend for jokes, they were both glad that he too had found someone. They never imagined in life that this would happen, but that it did happen was the most important thing. Not only because Sid's desperate search for a female and the whining got worse. But also because the sloth could see for himself what it was like to be in a relationship. Because until now, despite the dramatic separations, it sometimes spit great sentences out of him.

The strange thing was that Brooke accepted everything. No matter what Sid had for ideas. From time to time they interfered as friends. Because the female sloth made their buddy happy and conversely the other way round. That's why they didn't want her to disappear too quickly just because Sid showed too much of... well Sid.

Someone sighed quietly by his side and then leaned against him contentedly. That stopped the tiger in his mind and he averted his eyes from the sloths to look at his partner. In the glow of the fire, her fur really looked more than shiny and he could hardly resist the temptation to snuggle up to her more. But they weren't alone and he didn't want to embarrass Shira.

The grin from before became a gentle smile as he thought of what he had experienced sharing with this woman. Of course, his buddies were right back then and he had fallen head over heels in love with this saber-toothed tiger. He hardly knew her and knew that it was illogical. Still, his heart beat faster when he heard that she decided to join his herd. Of course, he didn't immediately think that she might be interested in him too. He didn't want to make futile hopes just because the tigress realized that her past life wasn't the best for her. Even if his buddies were sometimes idiotic and made strange suggestions, he was glad that he could make friends with her, which luckily developed into more for him.

Maybe that's why Sid never gave up looking for a woman for himself. He felt exactly the same feelings as he did when they both stood next to Manny and Ellie. They both longed for someone, but he knew how to hide this better than the male sloth.

His happy ending finally came with the silver-gray tigress, but her adventures were far from over. He could now look happily into the future to experience more with Shira and his friends.

"Maybe you should be a little quieter." His better half suddenly whispered with a smile, but she continued to look into the flames ahead of her. He wondered what she meant, because he didn't make a sound. Or was he already unwittingly speaking his thoughts? That would be a little uncomfortable for him.

But then he noticed what she meant. It was very quiet to hear and the sound came from himself. Diego purred. He thought it was good to have fur, otherwise he would also blush. He didn't find the matter uncomfortable, because his saber-toothed tiger did the same. When he heard it from her for the first time, he was so amazed. Because it means that a saber tooth felt good. What came so suddenly back then, because exactly this tough tigress felt that way about him. That said more than a thousand words, and neither of them had to explain more. Diego just had to get used to the fact that he was also capable of purring.

As a child, he often did as he and his siblings cuddled with his mother. Later, when he mistakenly learned that feelings are weakness, he never did it again. He was able to prevent such moments from his friends, but when Peaches was born, it was impossible. After an excursion where Sid was supposed to babysit because Ellie said so, he naturally followed the two. Firstly, he didn't want Manny to die of heart failure while he was doing something with his wife, and secondly, he didn't always trust the sloth. If the possums were also there, it could only end in chaos. But it didn't. It never happened. No matter how crazy the day started, in the end they were safe again at home. And so they ended this trip with a nap in the cave, where a little mammoth girl wanted to know why he made such noises.

He now looked thoughtfully at this not so small mammoth. His heart has warmed over the past few years. Now Peaches was a woman, married and old enough to have children of her own. Somehow Manny was right that the time passed too quickly. But unlike him, he didn't really feel old. Maybe a little more mature and experienced, but he was just as good as before. He was far from thinking of rusting. Finally, they could still have a lot to do.

Although he never talked to Shira in detail about it, whether they would have children themselves or not, Diego could consider himself lucky. And he showed that the moment he leaned his head against that of his tigress. Whether he was getting old or not while she was with him didn't really bother him. Who would run away if there was nothing else to complain about? They were not just a herd, but also a family. You really couldn't ask for more.

A clapping made him raise his head again. But it was only Sid who applauded because the female sloth must have ended the story. Cheerfully this one joined her boyfriend again. Diego hoped it wouldn't hurt the female animal that he didn't hear the story at all. But she was hardly the character that would be mad.

"How cute." Ellie raised her voice, which already sounded a little tired. By that she probably meant the younger mammoth couple, who already looked as if they were sleeping deeply and firmly.

"That's not fair! Wiener had no part at all." But Manfred was faster than the opossums and pulled them back by the tail when they wanted to run over to wake the molehog again.

"Somehow you're to blame for the fact that he's already sleeping. Because these berries also make you very tired." Then the mammoth mother whispered a little, but at least that way her brothers would no longer try to wake the other little one up.

"Then it's the turn of the slackers." Eddie said decisively, because the largest mammoth and the male saber-tooth shouldn't think that they can push themselves off here too. The rodent naturally got a sullen look for that. Then Manny rolled his eyes and sighed. It wasn't really bad either. And so he got up from his place, albeit reluctantly, because it was comfortably warm next to Ellie. For a moment he looked a little into the fire to collect himself.

"And?" Crash asked because he thought that his brother-in-law just wanted to remain silent.

"Always this impatience. Since it's already late, Diego can tell the story with me."

"I don't know what secrets you want to reveal here." The saber-toothed tiger thought that he would be spared at least with the thing, but what his buddy looked like, he wanted to drag him in there. Well, it was only fair, because even Shira did something for the best.

"So what were you thinking about?" He asked seriously again and the mammoth smiled slightly. Not mean or to annoy someone. No, it looked like a satisfied smile. Diego didn't quite understand what his friend was getting at.

"Do you know the story where a mammoth and a sloth with a human child meet a saber-toothed tiger?" The big cat smiled at that then too and now looked into the fire.

"Yes, I still have this in my head." He explained and suddenly Sid got him out of his thoughts. The latter almost tore him away from the tigress when he put one arm around him and one around Manfred's trunk.

"Hey guys, that's my favorite story too. The others certainly don't mind if it's my turn again." Actually, the other two didn't like the sloth being around with them like that, but at that moment they just let him do it.

And so the three friends told the others for the first time how their journey started. Of course, some already knew parts of this story, but no one knew the whole truth and how it came about that a herd had formed. So different and yet unique. Not every day a success, but together they managed to survive a lot. They faced dangers, even if they did not always come from outside and so they had to fight with feelings. Mistakes were made, but they also learned from them. A herd like theirs was probably never there a second time. But who wanted that anyway?

"So that was our contribution and.." But Manny broke off when he noticed that everyone else had fallen asleep. Ellie was asleep sitting and a saber-toothed tiger leaned to her left. Peaches was on the right, a molehog still slumbering on her legs. Julian, on his back with his legs in the air next to it. Manfred was no longer surprised by his son-in-law, so his sleeping position also left him cold.

Brooke cuddled with Eddie and Crash in her lap on the mammoth mother's legs and was already sleeping soundly.

"Did we needed too long for it?" Sid inquired a little too loudly and a trunk immediately covered his mouth.

"A little quieter, if I may ask." Manfred whispered and the male saber tooth yawned on it. Besides, he looked out of the cave.

"Yes, apparently we spent the whole night telling the story, because the new day is already beginning again." Diego said and was getting tired.

"Oh yes, presents out.." The sloth really wanted to stay awake, but this too was infected by his buddy yawning. With that he probably passed it on to the largest and still awake animal, because it did exactly the same thing.

"So they won't run away from you." The mammoth put the fire out completely and went further into the cave to make himself comfortable there. This probably intended to sleep longer. Because it wanted to avoid being blinded by daylight when it was really bright again.

A sloth snuggled up to his side as if it were natural.

"Your fur is nice and soft and warm." Sid answered as he was questioned from above. Nothing more could be done, because then the smaller one closed its eyes. Diego stood a little uncertain next to him. At least until Manfred sighed annoyed.

"Today we will make an exception, but that this will not become a habit for me!" He wanted to sound a little annoyed, but because he could hardly stay awake, it didn't come across. So the tiger leaned against the big woolly animal again with a yawn before he quietly wished his buddies a Merry Christmas and a good night. The other two smiled, though no one could see because all three of them had already closed their eyes, and did the same.

Then the friends went to dreamland, just like the rest of the herd.

**I wish everyone a peaceful time and nice holidays :)**


End file.
